We report a new Web-based resource (LAMHDI) integrating information about animal models for human disease research. This NCRR supported resource provides a simple interface to existing animal model information for the biomedical research community. It provides more efficient access to animal model information, better categorizes and organizes existing data, facilitates interactions between researchers and resource providers, and promotes broader and more applicable use of animal models for human disease research. Approach Phase 1: A first-generation prototype is available at www.LAMHDI.org. This portal provides searchable access to existing mouse and zebrafish databases through an integrated search engine, as well as linked access to information about a variety of other species including nonhuman primates and rats. The portal also allows researchers to contribute data on animal models, thereby extending the impact of existing information through direct posting by the research community. Phase 2: The second generation will add extensive new information for additional animal model species and will increase the depth and connectivity of the data through development of semantic datastores. A sophisticated software architecture will support intelligent relational searches across diverse datasets to highlight associations between diseases, animal models, and biologic pathways.

Background Accreditation of engineering undergraduate programs is very important to both the university and the students graduating from the program. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, ABET, is an accreditation organization for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. The quality of engineering programs has become a fundamental issue in the educational system in the United States. Accreditation confirms that the institution or the program meets the minimum quality criteria. ABET has become more important when licensure is required in many states for engineers to practice. According to information provided in ABET website, “Many state board of professional licensure in engineering and surveying require applicants to have graduated from an ABET‐accredited program. In states where non‐ABET graduates are permitted to be licensed, an additional four to eight years of work experience may be required.” (http://www.abet.org) Some of the advantages of accreditation of the program or institutions are as follows: (http://www.abet.org) ♥ Accreditation provides structured method to assess, evaluate, and improve the qualify of the program ♥ Accreditation helps students and families choose quality programs ♥ Accreditation enables employers to recruit graduates that are well‐prepared ♥ Accreditation is used by registration, licensure, and certification boards to screen applicants From the ABET Viewpoints Volume 1, it is pointed out that ABET helps improving Ethics Awareness in higher education [Viewpoints 2005]. ABET provides a sets of goals and objectives for accreditation and evaluates and certifies the engineering related education. After requesting an evaluation of its program, the faculty develops a methodology of assessing the performance with respect to outcomes that are defined in ABET criteria. Each engineering program develops its objectives and performs internal evaluation to meet ABET criteria. Sources in literature describe different approaches and present various tools to design effective processes for evaluating engineering education and to satisfy ABET criteria. Miller and Olds introduce an evaluation matrix which provides performance criteria, implementation strategies, and evaluation methods. (Olds 1998) Owen, Scales, and Leonard explain the importance of creating a database of outcome indicators for engineering programs. There are many other sources in the literature describing different techniques to create surveys for measuring success and providing strategies to integrate assessment and evaluation into engineering education [Owen 1999]. Besides the sources in literature, experiences of institutions when they were accredited provide various approaches. The United States Military Academy (USMA) prepared multiple programs for a joint ABET accreditation. They first established the committees for each department and developed cross‐program reviews. The cross‐program review helped them to identify problem areas and make to correctio...

Many software projects continue to be over budget, over schedule, and fail despite the tools created for managing the life cycle and the continuous improvement efforts. A great number of the problems in systems development projects is caused by poor requirements management processes. The failure to understand the reasons behind the low quality requirements, to understand the relationship between the quality of requirements and requirements engineering process, and to take no actions for increasing the quality of requirements by eliminating the causes behind those effects result in increased cost, low reliability and maintainability, and a system that does not meet the stakeholders' requirements. The aim of this research, the Requirements Engineering Process Design for Six Sigma (REDFSS), is to improve the quality of requirements using Six Sigma methodology along with a set of metrics and tools to identify the low quality requirements and offer corrective actions to overcome the quality issues and identify and eliminate the causes for defects and help requirements engineers to make better judgments.